Cat's in the Cradle
by Slaminaevoli
Summary: When Asuna suddenly goes missing, Kirito stumbles upon a little cat, and there's something oddly familiar about the little thing.
1. Kitten

**Hi! This is my first fanfic so please no hate! This takes place between after Yuuki dies and before Ordinal scale. I have nothing wrong with Ordinal scale but this was most convenient for the storyline.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. Sword Art Online is owned by A-1 Pictures, Aniplex USA, and Reki Kawahara.**

The sun was setting while two people lie in the grass staring up at the tree branches. It was rather warm while the occasional cool breeze would sweep down onto the couple.

"Kirito?" Asuna looked at him. Kirito turned his head to meet her amber gaze. "Yes?" he questioned, slight concern in his voice.

"Remember when we first took a nap under a tree together?" she asked, her lips tugging at a smile. Kirito warmly smiled back. "Yeah, you judged me for slacking off, and then proceeded to take a nap next to me not 5 minutes later."

Her brows furrowed and then she lightly punched him in the shoulder. Kirito just gave a wholehearted laugh.

"Things used to be so different." She sighed, barely above a whisper, more to herself than anyone.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Is that bad?"

"No. It's weird not having some new game or piece of tech, that seems harmless, but is actually hurting lots of people with only you to figure out their master plot and save them." She smiled, loving and warmth in her eyes. "I love it."

He sighed, relief filling his voice. "Yeah, it's nice not to have enemies." He chuckled. "This must be what normal people feel like."

Asuna couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Could we ever be classified as normal people?"

"Probably not." He breathed out.

…

It was nightfall by the time they decided to head back. There were no stars on account of them being so close to the city, but it was still quite dark.

Kirito hopped on his motorcycle as he turned his head to face Asuna.

"Are you sure you don't want a ride home?" He asked with the sincerest gaze.

Asuna smiled at his concern and shook her head. "No, I'm fine, it's not far."

He just tilted his head seriously. "Asuna…"

"No!" She cut him off. "I can handle myself."

Kirito just huffed, clipping his helmet under his chin.

Seeing this, Asuna brought her lips to his giving him just a little peck before pulling away.

"See you at school tomorrow!" She sung before she skipped off like a child.

He chuckled deeply, and then twisted the motorcycle handle. It let out a loud roar as he started to speed off. Kirito yelled over the loud engine. "Bye Asuna!" But before leaving he jerked the ride sideways and continued to drift in a figure 8 position, then later speeding off.

Asuna just rolled her eyes and yelled "Showoff!" But she couldn't help but laugh.

He was such a tease.

As she walked she couldn't stop reminiscing about why she loved him. His willing to protect those he loves, his casual appearance, his above average intelligence, his obsession with combat, his love for the virtual world.

 _Now that I think about it, he's pretty emo._

He really is, with his loner attitude and all black clothing. He's also like this cool rebel kid. I mean come on! He rides a motorcycle, he's sexy, he defies the rules of most things. He knows his limits, he just doesn't pay attention to them. But that's not all.

Even if he was just his personality, and that's the main reason I love him, but that doesn't mean I don't notice his…other aspects.

His perfect symmetrical face, his beautiful, deep coal black eyes, portraying all of his emotions. His soft, raven hair. His tall, toned body. His tight ass-

She shook her head, and continued walking.

 _Why does he love me?_

She found herself asking that from time to time. What did she have, that he couldn't get in any other girl of his choice? In her eyes, he was just so…so perfect. With his soft, welcoming lips, he was such an amazing kisser-

 _Stop it!_

Now, she found herself blushing hard, like a school girl. Not that she wasn't.

Then something irked her the wrong way. The entire street was weirdly empty.

She heard a loud crash. She jumped and whipped herself around to confront her intruder. "You—huh?"

In front of her was a thin, light brown cat with striking amber brown eyes.

"Aw." She cooed. She bent down to the small creature. Cautiously, she slid her hand to its back and started to stroke the small kitty.

"You kind of look like me." She said in a high, baby voice.

The cat just looked deep into her eyes, and let out a cute, little mew.

"Cutie.." she whispered. She then heard another loud sound and the cat sped off.

She stood up, feeling nervous. She shivered suddenly and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she broke into a run.

She tried to scream when she felt a hand cover her mouth as she was quickly pulled into an alley way.

"Who are you?!" she screamed but it came out as a muffle. Suddenly, she felt herself slip into unconciseness.

…

When she jolted awake, she found herself in unfamiliar surroundings. She felt herself tied to a chair. She looked around. They seem to have taken her to a deserted bar of some kind. Then realized all of the equipment around the room, the realized that she had some type of equipment on her head.

"Ugh" she groaned.

A door in front of the room swung open and about 3 guys came in.

"What are you doing!?" she screamed.

One of the guys with glasses turned toward her. "Getting revenge" he grinned deviously.

She struggled against her bonds, only to no avail.

Then noticed one of them had a small metal cage in his hands, it contained the small cat she saw not to long ago.

The guys proceeded to pretend like she wasn't there. Walking around, rebooting stuff, starting up equipment.

For about 30 minutes it continued like that, they doing work stuff while she screams and they continue to ignore it. But, she couldn't help but wonder a few things.

Getting revenge? There were a ton of things these guys could want to get revenge for. And more importantly, why do they need the cat. She then decided to listen to try and figure out what was going on. It was hard though, as they seem to speak at barely above a whisper.

"…almost ready…one last part…..not possible…agreed…..conscious transference.."

Wait.

Wait a minute.

Conscious transference?

What could that mean?

"It's ready!" One of the guys shouted. As she looked around she realized there were about 11 guys in the room.

A tall one with dark brown hair walked up, pulled out a chair and sat in it backwards so that he was facing her. She looked at his arms, on one arm was a tattoo of a snake, she shifted her gaze to the other and her heart nearly stopped.

Laughing Coffin.

"I see you noticed my branding." He said coldly. "You want to know why we are doing this to you?" he questioned.

"Not particularly" She stated just as coldly.

He chuckled. It was as deep as Kirito's, but this one was filled with malice and anger.

"Ha. I see why he likes you." He whispered. "You're feisty…Lightning Flash"

She gasped. Yes, she was a more popular player, but tons of SAO survivors don't recognize her. When that game cleared, we all left our identities in it. We all got a fresh start.

Though some people don't deserve it she thought bitterly.

"Well you see, my life was…perfect." He started "I could let out my anger and murder whoever I want, and nobody was ever going to find out! But that bastard had to go clear the game and my paradise was taken from me and turned into something unrecognizable!" he suddenly whispered harshly in my ear. "So I'm going to take his paradise and turn it into something unrecognizable."

He disappeared from sight. I heard a ton of machines wiring up, and then a huge bright light flashed her eyes.

And she was out cold.

 **Please review! I'd love to hear you're opinion!**


	2. Escape!

**Hey guys! Sorry if this is a little short. This is more of a filler chapter for the story, please tell me what you think, I'd love to hear your opinions!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

The motorcycle roar stuttered to a stop as Kirito unclicked his helmet. What a night he thought as he clicked the keys to his house.

As he stepped inside, he immediately felt himself shiver from the cool air the vents were letting out. Why did Suguha insist on keeping it like an iceberg in here? He thought. Normally he would turn the air down, but at this point and time he felt too tired to care.

He slowly slugged up the stairs. Each monotonous step bringing a deeper feeling of dread and sleep. He felt his eyes flutter in exhaustion, each limb slowly giving in.

When he approached Suguha's room he couldn't help but feel the need to check in on her.

Feeling his exhaustion leave him, he cracked the door open, and peeked inside. Suguha was asleep on her bed but seemed to have more or less collapsed on top of her bed. He let out a silent chuckle at the sight as he closed the door and headed to his room.

When he entered his room, he flopped down on his bed unmoving. He let out a breath of exhaustion as he closed his eyes. He tried to calm his thoughts. But one thing kept circling his mind.

Asuna.

Her warmth, her light, her radiance, her laugh, her smile, her spirit, her beauty.

She was his fire, in his world of cold and solace.

He had always thought Suguha to be warm, and then he found Asuna to be like a sun compared to the heat she had.

She feels so safe, warm.

He didn't tell her, that if he couldn't marry her because of his status, he would have spent years building himself up, worked hard so that he made millions. He closed his eyes.

 _So that I would be worthy of her_. He thought.

And he drifted off to sleep.

…

 _Ugh. Why did that hurt so much_?

It felt like someone had grabbed her brain and squeezed it as hard as they could. Everything felt so strange. She felt oddly warm, her cheeks itched, her bones hurt.

Her tail twitched.

 _Tail?!_

She peeled her eyes open to find that she was in the cage.

Stuck in the cat's body.

She tried to scream but all that came out was an ear-piercing yowl. She was a cat. She had a long tail, short, thick light brown fur, white whiskers, claws, jaws.

It was almost to much.

She got up onto her paws and looked around. In the back she saw a mirror. The cat looked oddly like her. Same shade of hair, or fur, same eye color, same small form. But…

She was not a cat!

She tried to calm herself down. And started to take deep breaths.

She vowed to herself. She would not spend the rest of her life as a cat!

She would have to find Kirito, and somehow communicate that she was Asuna, find her real body, and somehow fix this!

She opened her amber eyes.

But first she would have to escape.

She immediately felt an odd sense of déjà vu. Then quickly remembered her time spent in a cage in Alfhiem Online. She then shook her fur covered head. No, this was nothing like Alfhiem Online.

This time she would be strong.

She looked at her surroundings. The machines surrounding her were producing sparks and had charred black.

They must have short circuited. She thought.

She then noticed the lack of people. Asuna walked toward the edge of the cage and peered down.

Everyone was on the floor. Knocked out.

If she could just escape without waking them up. She pondered.

She then turned her attention towards her cage. The thin bars were too close together to squeeze through. She focused on the lock on her cage. Bingo. It was the kind of lock you'd see on most dog crates or bird cage. It was a small hatch with a hoop going through it to keep it shut. All she would have to do is lift up the hoop out of the hatch and the cage door would open.

Asuna leaned forward and placed her small pink nose through the bars and onto the hoop. As she slowly started to lift the hoop, the metal let out a loud squeak. She quickly jerked her nose back and the hoop fell back and hit the cage bars with a loud bang.

She whipped her around to see that one of the guys had stirred. Her body tensed. If he woke up, her chances of escaping would slim greatly.

She had not noticed herself hold her breath as he continued to stir. The room was dead silent except for the sounds the man was making. Her heart nearly stopped in the prospect of one of the guys waking up.

The guy suddenly stilled, and the stirring stopped as his breathing slowed once again. Her body relaxed, and she found herself able to breathe again.

She pushed the metal hoop up much more slowly this time. And then she heard a clink of metal and the cage door opened.

 _Success!_

Without thinking, she leaped out of the cage onto the floor.

And landed flat on her face.

Ouch. She thought.

Then she quietly got up, and walked toward a window, carefully placing each step so that she wouldn't disturb their sleep. Her heart would stop every time she forgot she had four paws, and one of her back legs would brush over one of the men.

Her heart had stopped about 15 times by the time she got to the window.

She had thought about just using the door, but she took one look at the circular know and decided against it. She then faced up towards the window. It was one of those windows where you would push them open.

 _Perfect_.

There was a convenient table under the window, so all she would have to do is get onto that table and she would be golden.

She crouched, getting ready to jump.

Then, she expanded her hind legs. And jumped!

She was going up, but not high enough.

Shi-! Was her last thought before her jaw collided with the table, she fell to the floor with a loud thump.

"Hey!"

She whipped her head around to see the guy that had stirred earlier was now fully awake.

And pissed.

After the yell, more and more guys started to stir.

She then got into another crouch, and jumped again, this time, using her forepaws to help her she awkwardly landed on top of the table.

Guys were running to get her, her paws were on the window pushing, but the window didn't budge.

The miraculously, some idiot decided to throw a beer bottle at her. Asuna jerked out of the way and the beer bottle smashed on the window.

Also smashing the window.

Asuna then leaped out of the window onto the pavement. It was still very dark outside, but she knew that the sun would probably rise in a few hours, but for now.

She was free!

She then bolted into the night , clumsily stumbling on her paws every now and then.


	3. Smoke and Storm

**Sorry it took a while to update. You know the drill, life and stuff. This is more of a filler chapter but I hope you like it.**

Asuna ran along the empty street. Her paws making almost no sound as they hit the hard cement. She felt weird bouncing up and down, moving her feet the way she had to move them, but her determination to keep running strongly overpowered that feeling. It was very dark, not like the well-lit part of town she was used to. The only light source available was the occasional street lamp that lit the narrow road casting shadows into the dark alleyways. She suddenly halted, realizing she had no idea where she was.

She glanced around, seeing nothing that gave a hint as to where she was. The eerie silence made her ears twitch. There was nothing, not a car driving by, not a gust of wind, it was even as though her thoughts had been silenced.

She forced her paws to move, one step at a time as opposed to her previous running. The sky was an inky black, dark clouds covering up any stars. Even the moon, whose position could give her an idea of what time it was, had been smothered in murky onyx.

Her tail hung low, not moving an inch out of place. Her gaze drifted downwards, in her eyes an indifferent look of sorrow and confusion clouded her sight.

She was incredibly tired, and hungry, however the pretentious emotions circling her head created a much larger feeling than hunger or exhaustion.

But she had to keep going.

…

She had been walking for a few hours now, the sky had cleared up slightly, and things had started to look a lot less ghostly. It had started to get a little breezy, the occasional car would drive by, and she even heard owls singing their song.

 _Well, this is a little better._

Suddenly, a very large crash sounded from one of the old abandoned buildings. Asuna halted, she whipped her head around, searching for any sign of danger.

Nothing seemed to be out of place, so she decided to keep walking. As she turned her head in front of her to keep going, a cat appeared.

She shouted in fear and fell backwards, not used to her extra set of legs yet. She shut her eyes, and prepared herself to be attacked, only to be surprised when no attack came. She looked at him.

The other cat seemed amused, even.

 _How dare he?_ She bristled.

The cat tilted its head. "Are you okay?" Its voice was deep, it was a tom.

"Y-yeah I think so" she stuttered as she got up. Asuna used this opportunity to get a better look at him. He had thin, dark grey fur with black splotches. His tail was way longer, and he was way taller. He had glossy, blue eyes.

He narrowed his eyes, "You are a weird cat." He said bluntly.

Asuna twitched her tail. _What is his deal?_ "Hey!" She stated, offended. "What's so weird about me, you showed up put of nowhere and scared me half to death!"

He chuckled deeply at that response. "Well, if you were any normal cat, you would have realized you entered my territory a long while ago, and you wouldn't be so awkward at walking."

Asuna looked down and flattened her ears embarrassed. "…Really?"

"Yeah" he informed with a straight face, but then he smiled. "Hey, if you need help or something, I'd be happy too."

Asuna smiled in return. "Yeah, I need too-"she then paused. _How much should I tell this guy? I'll tell him about Kirito, he probably wouldn't get the rest anyway._

"Need to what?" He interrupted her thoughts.

"Need to find my boyfriend!" She gave a friendly face, but the frowned at his look of confusion.

"Boyfriend...? What is that?" His whiskers twitched.

"Oh, um" she stuttered. " It's a special somebody that loves you and you always want to be around. You are in love with each other so you both agree to protect each other and always put each other first and make each other happy." She blushed under her brown fur, thinking of Kirito. The more she thought about him, the more it felt like her heart was about to explode.

 _My love for you is so strong, I can't contain it._

It was then she realized she was purring. She immediately stopped, calming herself down and looking up at the cat.

"So…Like a mate?" He guessed.

Her blush returned at the word mate. I guess it would fit their relationship, but that word felt so primal and…

 _Like it's destined to be._

Her thoughts then drifted back to her lover, she then got lost in memories of them together. Laughing, fighting, playing, talking, kissing, virtual, real world. No matter what, her love for the swordsman had never stopped.

"Yeah" she finally mewed. "Exactly like a mate."

The tom blinked. "So, do you know where he is?"

"Um…yeah. Somewhere north of town?" she guessed. She had figured this cat had know idea of street names or county names, so she went with what the cat might know.

To her relief, he simply mewed. "That's not far from here. If we leave at dawn, we will probably be there by sun high."

 _Sun high must be what they call noon._

Then a thought occurred to her, "What about your territory?"

"Not many cats pass through these parts, and even if they do, my brother will make sure they stay in their place." He reassured her.

The she-cat tilted her head in confusion. "Your brother?"

"Let's just say you're lucky I found you, and not him." He chuckled. "Come on, let's rest, even in Greenleaf it's not safe to be out at night." He got up and walked away, his tail beckoning her to follow.

She nodded, understanding that Greenleaf was summertime, and followed. This cat seemed like he was genuine enough to try and help her.

 _Or so I hope._

"Oh by the way," he interrupted her thoughts once again. "I never got your name."

The brown she-cat smiled. "My name is Asuna."

"Asuna," he repeated. "Strange name. I'm Smoke."

…

Smoke had led her to a hole in an abandoned building, just underneath the steps that led up to the entry way. The building was tall, but not too wide.

"Hey, Storm!" he shouted. Then, another cat came out from the hole. He had a much lighter grey pelt than his brother and was a solid color except for black ears and a black tail. His shoulders were much broader and was more heavy-set than the other tom, with muscles underneath the thick fur. They were the same towering height, with the exact same blue eyes.

Storm greeted his brother with a dip of his head, then turned his sharp gaze to the much smaller tabby she-cat.

"Who is this?" he growled.

"This," he lightly put his long tail on my shoulder. "is Asuna. She is looking for her mate, but is a bit lost, so I'm helping her look." He said smoothly.

Storm glared at his brother," Smoke, if other cats find out that we take in any loner off the street- "

"They won't" He reassured his brother. "besides, she is going to stay for one night, and then she'll be off."

He growled, still uncertain.

"Please?" Asuna joined in, "I'm really worried about my boyfr-mate!"

His gaze then softened, maybe he truly pitied the young she-cat.

"Okay, she can stay." He finally said, his tail swishing.

"Cool." Smoke mewed. Then went inside the hole with Storm and Asuna following.

Inside, it was like a home. Asuna glanced around. It was spacious, with two piles of moss had been gathered together with feathers tangled in the bedding. She hadn't noticed she had been shivering until she entered the warm den.

"I will make you a new nest, and Smoke can get us some fresh-kill to eat." Storm had said. At first glance he had seemed unfriendly but now he was smiling and no longer growling.

 _Except for our stomachs of course._ Then, it hit her. They were going to eat dead animals! Uncooked!

At that moment smoke entered the den, a dead mouse limp in his jaws. He dropped it in front of her. The sight was repulsive, but for some reason it made her mouth water.

"You can eat this first," Smoke said warmly. "I will get me and Storm some." Then he disappeared outside.

She stared at the 'fresh-kill'. It's neck was bleeding where Smoke made the kill bite. The scent wafted up into her nose and her stomach growled.

Storm then appeared next to her. "Something wrong?" he asked politely.

She twitched her whiskers. "Oh, it nothing, it's just…" she swallowed. "I have never eaten fresh-kill before!" she expected that they would figure out that she was actually a human, considering her situation. But instead he laughed.

"Oh, okay. Just try it you might like it." He twitched his left ear. "Have you been eating kittypet food your whole life?"

Her whiskers twitched. "What?"

"You know the stuff the Twolegs give their kittypets?"

 _Oh, Twolegs must be what they call humans. So kittypets must be their housecats._

"Y-yeah! That is what I have been doing!" She tried to lie smoothly.

His blue gaze shifted downwards. "Oh, you must not know how to hunt." He then looked up into her amber eyes. "I could teach you if you like."

She smiled at the offer, but she didn't intend on staying a cat for long. "No thanks, but I appreciate the offer." She then looked down at her meal. "Oh well, here goes nothing."

She opened her jaws and bit down at the mouse's belly, taking a bite. It was delicious. It tasted like juicy turkey.

 _This is amazing. If I can't get back to my human body, I could make a life for myself._

Smoke came back with a sparrow and another mouse. They ate together and then slept, ready for tomorrow's journey


	4. Internship

A ray of white light pierced between the crack in the curtain and the window into the room. A small black box on the nightstand by the bed had bright green digits showing the time 7:11 AM. On the bed, a sleeping figure wrapped up in a bundle of sheets slept. A series of short grunts could be heard from the hard-working girl outside.

The day was quiet. The occasional birds would chirp, and the cars would pass by, but no one was filled up with any more excitement than usual. Today, nothing was wrong, and nothing special was going to happen; just another day of life.

The day was too quiet to know some terrible and wicked events had taken place last night after a young girl was left to walk home alone. A girl, who was hated, because she was the love of a swordsman, who was a good person, that saved lives and took away a murder's paradise. It is because of these unlikely and terrible events that someone innocent had been dearly wronged.

But all of this is unbeknownst to the sleeping figure, who should have woken up 11 minutes ago. Today was another day for him. He thinks he is going to wake up, get ready, head to school and see the love of his life. But the expectation of seeing his love, followed by the feeling of pure joy and happiness, would soon be replaced by overwhelming fear and dread.

But he didn't know that.

…

Asuna slowly stirred awake as she felt something prod her fur covered shoulder.

"S-stop it." she murmured.

A deep chuckle rang through her cat ears, and she winced, unused to her heightened senses. She couldn't tell who it was though, as both of the brothers had such similar mews.

"Well...I guess I'll go there without you then." the voice giggled.

At that line, she knew it was Smoke. Slowly, her bright amber eyes peeled open to meet the glossy blue ones.

"You wouldn't dare." she chided in response.

"Oh, yeah?" The tom turned away and started walking, leaving her.

"Oh, no you don't!" she sat up and crouched getting ready to pounce as she felt she had learned a lot more about being a cat and wouldn't make any of her previous mistakes.

She shifted her hind legs and pounced with her forepaws. Immediately she fell flat on her face. She got up to see Smoke mewing in laughter.

"Do you even know how to pounce?" he questioned, laughter still deep within his voice.

"Y-yeah! O-or no. Er-um...Not really." She shifted her gaze down, her ears flattened in embarrassment.

His head tilted in curiosity. "You never learned how?"

Asuna looked back up at his eyes, seeing confusion cloud his gaze.

"Oh um, yeah, I learned, I ju-just...um...got...in an accident! Yeah! It was really bad. I had to relearn how to walk and everything." she lied. Internally crossing her fingers that she didn't have anymore that he would believe it.

It was his turned to be embarrassed as he looked down. "Oh...I'm really sorry"

The she-cat quickly shook her head. "Oh no! It was nothing!"

Smoke flicked his tail. "Anyways. We gotta get going!"

…

Kazuto was brushing his teeth alongside Suguha when he heard the distinctive ring of the doorbell.

"You get it." Suguha demanded, though muffled by the froth of toothpaste in her mouth. "I got it all this week while you were busy clearing floors in New Aincrad."

He just nodded in agreement, not wanting to get into an argument with Suguha.

He quickly spat and then bounced downstairs skipping every other step as he made his way to the front door.

Neither Kazuto nor Suguha liked answering the door. It required social skills and charisma that one usually didn't have after just waking up. Even if it was late in the day, most conversations with people at the door were very awkward and uncomfortable. At best, there is a very formal and firm greeting, they do their business, and with a very formal goodbye, and at the end both go on about their day as though the other person didn't exist.

Kazuto hated it significantly more than Suguha did. Spending most of his life playing video games made him an awkward person. It was one of the reasons he enjoyed being alone and solo.

The doorbell rang again, and the raven-haired boy was snapped out of his thoughts.

He pulled the door open and was very surprised at the person he saw standing there.

Asuna's mother.

"M-Mrs Yuuki!" He stuttered in shock. "I wasn't expecting a visit!" At this moment he was very glad that he was all dressed in his school uniform, not wanting her to see him in his non-expensive regular clothing.

"Kirigaya." Her stern voice rang out, and her face filled with concern and worry.

He felt his back straighten up. He could not remember a moment when she was not carrying that intense expression of hers. But this time was different, usually, she didn't show any emotion at all, carrying a poker face at all times. The air was stiff, his gaze was locked with hers, his feet couldn't stop shifting.

"Where is Asuna?"

His eyes widened immediately. Sometimes it only takes a few words to induce someone into a mild to a severe panic attack. This is one of the moments in Kazuto's life where he truly felt terrified. He felt helpless, weak. His mind filled with a thousand thoughts and questions as he slowly fell down a rabbit hole in his mind. He could imagine what's happening to her right now. To her.

 _Asuna._

He took in a few breaths and looked back up at the older woman. Maybe he was over exaggerating. Maybe she just ran away somewhere else. Maybe she decided to have a girls night. Maybe she is with Sinon, or Silica, or Lizbeth, or Agil, or even Klein for that matter. Maybe she is at her house right now and just got home late. Maybe if he keeps doing this one of them will actually come true. Maybe, just maybe, she can be safe.

"Um… I don't know where she is. Why?" He gulped, scared of the answer.

"She... is missing then." she choked out.

Fear crashed down on him like an anvil. His heart was beating so heavily. There was a weight on his chest that made breathing impossible. Everything happened so slowly. He was visibly shaking. He didn't want to pester Asuna's mother anymore, but he had to be sure.

"She might have gone over to her friend's house. Are you sure she is not at Shino's house or-"

She cut him off "Yeah, we checked there first." The way she spoke to him suppressed anger and bitterness. It was clear she blamed him, and he blamed himself.

It was all his fault. He shouldn't have let her walk home alone. He should have protected her. Once again, he failed her. She doesn't deserve someone like him. She deserves so much more than he could ever offer her. But he'll be damned if he doesn't at least offer every single thing he has, every single day. He will never stop looking for her. He truly meant what he said back in Alfheim to Suguha. Nothing would ever end, nothing would ever begin, he had to see her again.

 _Keep fighting Asuna. I swear on everything that you'll be safe, and maybe, if you'll have me, we can be together forever._

…

The stone pavement tapped underneath her padded paws. It was still unnerving to hear four steps come from her but she slowly got used to it. The sun was clearly shining down on the thin fur on the two cats as they moved down the street. The bigger cat was a few paces ahead of her as he lead her deeper into town. They walked on a sidewalk that seemed to be abandoned by humans as it appeared that they preferred to use their cars.

Asuna originally thought that they would be stared at or even chased as she thought this would be an out of ordinary sight. However, they hardly got any glances from humans.

She then turned her gaze up to the sky, seeing that the sun was just barely above the horizon. She sighed at this. Smoke had informed her that the earliest they would be able to arrive would be around sunhigh.\ She had no idea what she would even do once she found him. I mean, could she even communicate with him?

"Hey Smoke…" She trailed off.

"Yeah?" He raised his head a little bit to show he was listening but didn't stop.

"Can we um, communicate with humans?" She tilted her head just a little bit.

He stopped at this, a bit ahead of her, glancing back at her with a very confused expression.

"Humans?"

"Er. Um. Twolegs?" She felt a bit weird saying that, but then again, she felt a bit weird being a cat.

But what came next shocked her.

He started laughing. It was a very deep and hearty laugh like she had said something absolutely ridiculous.

"Okay. For real, where are you even from? Do you live under a rock?" He questioned, still laughing.

"Ummm, no?" she responded while chuckling nervously, not understanding what is so funny.

"Well, to answer your question, no. Not even the kittypets can communicate with their twolegs."

 _Damn it._

"So...in theory how would one get a message to them?" She questioned with a flick of her tail.

The gray tom paused and turned around, looking at her as if she had grown two heads.

"Why on earth would you want to do that? Look, if you want food, you beg, if you want them to go away, you hiss and claw. They are very simplistic beings that don't think too deeply into things. What's with all these questions anyway?"

The small ginger she-cat looked down in embarrassment and licked her chest fur. "Nevermind it's nothing….really."

He stared at her for a bit, not buying it, her fur burned under his gaze. She silently pleaded in her head that he wouldn't question her any further.

The tom blinked and then turned around to continue forward.

Asuna continued to trail after him. The question kept nagging at her. How was she supposed to convince Kirito that she was Asuna? There wasn't exactly an easy form of communication meant for humans and cats to talk to each other. There was no need to. Until now. Which made her think. How did the old members of Laughing Coffin manage to get their hands on such advanced technology? It had to be difficult to be able to transfer someone's consciousness into that of a cat.

She stopped herself.

 _No time for that. I'll worry about communication later. Right now I need to find him._

…

Kazuto was escorted to a pale grey room with a table and two chairs occupying the center. The police had just finished interviewing Asuna's mother and father, Lisbeth, Sinon, Suguha, and Silica. He figured they saved his interview for last as an attempt to intimidate him because he very well could be a suspect. He was the last one to see her, so he didn't blame them for doubting them.

He pulled out one of the chairs and took a seat. It was not very comfortable but it did its job of providing him a seat. The officer who escorted him told him to wait patiently until the detective arrived and then left him to his thoughts.

The teenage male leaned forward propping his elbows on the table as he let his head rest in his hands. Thoughts of what his beloved could be going through invaded his mind. It had been mere hours since he had been told the horrible news and he had been unable to relax and likely wouldn't be able to until Asuna was safe. He briefly wondered if they would allow him to assist in the investigation. Helping to track her down would slightly ease the ever-growing tension in his chest. However, he doubted they would let him. Not only might he be considered a suspect but he was also only a teenage boy with no experience with police work. He would be lucky to even be updated about the case 24/7.

The loud creaking of the door signaled its opening. Kazuto raised his head from his hands and turned to see a rather tall sturdy man with a very intimidating aura. He looked on the older side as if the stress from this line of work had aged him many years. He slowly stepped across the room and took the seat opposite from the much younger boy.

"So you are Ms. Yuuki's lover?" He didn't hesitate to immediately start with the questioning.

The teenager nodded.

The old man just continued his cold, intimidating stare. "Okay, tell the story from the beginning."

"Well," Kazuto began,"We were hanging out at the park, but it got dark so we decided to call it a night. I offered to escort her home but she insisted that she was fine." As he said that statement he felt so stupid. Why on earth had he let her walk home alone? He should have forced her to let him walk her home. She might have been angry at the time but at least then she would have been safe.

Apparently, the regret had been evident on his face because the detective then spoke.

"It wasn't your fault. The worst thing you can do in this situation is to blame yourself. How could you have known this would happen to her?"

Kazuto was silent. His onyx eyes were fixed onto the floor.

"...But this isn't the first time it has happened to her, is it?"

That statement finally made him snap out of his trance. Kazuto lifted his head and met the older man's gaze.

"No," he informed,"She is not only an SAO survivor but she was also a victim of the experiments that went down in ALO when the server was under the control of Sugou Noboyuki."

The detective nodded his head, taking in all the new information and drawing out new theories in his head.

"Listen, I know that you will likely say no, but I have to ask, is it possible for me to join the case? I know that-"

The raven-haired boy was cut off by the older male. "Listen, kid, I know you want to find your girlfriend but this isn't an easy job and it's not for the faint of heart. You shouldn't have to worry about this stuff."

"I know that but I can handle it! It would actually put me more at ease to know that I was doing something to help find Asun- I mean Ms. Yuuki."

The detective sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "Do you even have any experience in this field?"

"Actually, I do. I am also an SAO survivor. I not only solved a murder where you weren't supposed to be able to be killed, but I also sent a guild to jail and finished off a huge murderous guild." He stated confidently.

"Solving a case here and solving a case in a game are two different things," he stated matter-of-factly.

"I also figured out everything that was happening under wraps within the ALO server." He added in.

The older man's brown eyes widened. "That was you? I had heard that it was a single man that did it without any resources, but for him to also be a teenager?" His eyes raked his face looking for any signs of deception, but instead of worry or fear like he expected, he saw only determination and love.

"Please," the love-struck teenager begged, "I love her."

The detective sighed. "We can't pay you."

"You couldn't pay me enough to keep away from this case." the raven-haired boy answered.

"So you admit that even if I turned you down, you would still follow this case?" He questioned and saw the teenager nod. "That's illegal you know."

"I don't care." He responded simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Fine," the older man gave in, "From now on, you will be my intern."

The two men stood up and lifted their hands to shake one another.

"Ok, my name is Kirigaya Kazuto. I want to get started immediately."

The older man chuckled though the raven-haired boy was serious.

"Ok intern, I am Detective Amano Haruto. Let's bring you up to speed, then we will head to the scene. Let us go, shall we?"


End file.
